Honeycomb uncapping machine



Nov. 28, 1950 M. l. TAYLOR 2,531,709

HONEYCOMB UNCAPPING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1947 FIG. 13

Nov. 28, 1950 M. l. TAYLOR HONEYCOMB UNCAPPING MACHINE 5 sheets sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1947 Nov. 28, 1950 1. TAYLOR 2,531,709

HONEYCOMB UNCAPPING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MERRITT I. TAYLOR M W M W Patented Nov. 28, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HONEYCOMB UNCAPPING MACHINE Merritt I. Taylor, Richmond, Va.

Application March 5, 1947, Serial No. 732,409

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to machines for removing the cell caps of honey-comb to permit the extraction of honey therefrom.

A conventional procedure in extraction of honey from the comb is to remove the cell caps of the comb with a special knife adapted to be artificially heated by steam or electricity. Because of the fact that honey-comb very often has a rough uneven surface, this procedure is either long and tedious in case the maximum amount of honey is to be saved; or very wasteful of honey in case the time for uncapping a given amount of honeycomb is small.

My invention has for its general aim to solve the uncapping problem thus presented.

More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a machine which is capable of following the generally uneven surface of a comb to shear off or remove the caps without any substantial loss or waste of honey.

A further object is to provide a machine wherein both caps of the cells of honey-comb may be removed simultaneously.

A still further object is to provide an uncapping machine wherein the cap removal is effected by a series of keys or cutters pivoted on axes radially spaced from the common axis of rotation of said keys or cutters.

Another object is the provision of a machine of the character stated wherein the uncapping keys are held in radially-extended position solely by centrifugal force whereby the keys may yield about their pivot axes and thus generally conform to an uneven comb surface.

A further object is the provision of a machine of the character mentioned wherein the rotors may be quickly simultaneously, equally and oppositely adjusted to accommodate combs of varying thickness.

A further object is the provision of an uncapping machine which is power driven, relatively inexpensive to construct, simple and safe to operate and which will produce the maximum amount of first grade honey from a given amount of comb.

A still further object of my invention is to lessen the time and labor involved in uncapping honey.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine, certain parts being omitted or broken away for clarity of illustration.

Figure 2 is a detail elevational View of the flexible motor mount.

Figure 3 is a detail view, partly in section, of the rotor control lever and its locking means.

Figure 4 is a section taken upon a plane indicated by the line 4-4, Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section taken upon the line 5-5, Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of one of the two duplicate rotors, showing the keys in the position they assume under centrifugal force, when the rotor is spinning at high speed.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view through a modified form of rotor and showing the position which the keys assume when the rotor is at rest.

Figure 8 is an elevational detail view of one of the two duplicate honey-comb holders.

Figure 9 is a section taken on a plane indicated by the line 99, Figure 8.

Figure 10 is an elevation of the left side of the machine showing more particularly the motor and belt drives to the two rotors.

Figure 11 is a view, partly in section, of the upper right front of the machine showing to an enlarged scale the comb frame slide control lever, the means for holding this lever in raised or uppermost position, and the motor control switch.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the under side of one of the two tank covers.

Figure 13 is an alternative form of cutting key having two cutting edges, and

Figure 14 is a view of a still further form of cutting key.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the machine includes a rectangular frame formed of front legs I and 2, rear legs 3 and 4, joined at the top by front and rear horizontals 5 and 6, and side horizontals I and 8. Left legs I and 3 are joined at their lower portions by a horizontal 9.. Right legs 2 and 4 are similarly joined by a horizontal I0. Horizontals 9 and Ill are joined at their central portions by parallel braces II and I2. The parts just described are conveniently formed of sections of angle iron bolted or welded together to form a rigid support for the moving parts of the instrument.

A pair of parallel slide rods I3 and I l extend between and are supported by front and rear horizontals 5 and 6, adjacent the right and left horizontals I and 8, respectively. Rod I3 has slides I5 and I6 mounted for translation thereon. Likewise rod I 4 has slides I7 and I8 translatable thereon. Each slide includes an anti-friction bearing. The bearings of slides I5 and I1 journal a rotor shaft I9, while those of slides I6 and I3 journal a second rotor shaft 26. Shafts I9 and 20 project outwardly from slides I5 and I6. The projecting end of shaft I9 carries a pulley 2| Similarly shaft has a pulley 22 fixed thereto. The power drive for these pulleys will be subsequently described.

The side horizontals and 8 support downwardly-extending bearing straps 23 and 24 at their forward ends. A shaft 25 is journaled in the lower ends of these straps so that it lies below the level of the top of the frame. A doublearmed lever 26 has an integral sleeve 25a, Figure 3, secured to shaft 25 by a set screw 21. An upper link 28 is pivoted at one end to lever 25, above sleeve 26a, and at its other end to bearing slide [5. A lower link 29 is pivoted at one end to lever 26 below sleeve 25a, and at its other end to bearing slide l6. At its other or right end, shaft 25 has a second double-armed lever 26b fixed thereto, in parallel relation with lever 26. At its upper end the aforesaid lever has one end of a link 3| pivoted thereto. The other end of link 3! is pivoted to bearing slide ll. At its lower end the lever is pivotally connected with one end of a link 32. The other end of link 32 is pivotally connected with bearing slide 18, as clearly shown upon Figure l. Links 28 and 3i are of the same length, as are links 29 and 32. Furthermore links 28 and are pivoted to their respective levers the same radial distance from shaft 25. This is also true of links 29 and 32. As a result of this construction, pivotal movement of shaft 25 effects substantially equal and opposite translation of the rotor shafts l9 and 28, whereby they may be moved toward and from each other to effect any desired separation distance.

Pivoting of shaft 25 is effected by a handle assembly shown in detail at Figures 3 and i. As there disclosed, lever 26 has a cylindrical handle 33 fixed, as by soldering or welding, to its upper end. A locking bar 34 is mounted for pivotal movement with lever 26; and for sliding relatively thereto as by means of a slot Ma and screw 35. At its top, bar 34 extends slidably through handle 33 and is bent at right angles to form a con- 'nection with a thumb-cap 36, the two being held together by a screw or rivet 31. A spring 38 is positioned within handle 33 to exert a thrust between the end of lever 26 and the bent end of bar 34, to thereby urge the latter upwardly,

At its lower end, bar 34 is shaped to form a widened portion having an elongated aperture 340. therein. The lower edge of this aperture is provided with a tooth or projection 34b adapted to snugly engage between any selected pair of a plurality of teeth 39a formed in a collar 39 fixedly attached to strap 23. bearing aperture which, in conjunction with strap 23, forms a bearing for shaft 25. By this construction, handle 33 may be grasped, cap 36 pushed downwardly to thereby move tooth 34b out of engagement with teeth 38a. The lever 25 may then be swung to bring the rotors on shafts l9 and 2G to their desired position of lateral separation. On release of cap 36, spring 38 again shifts bar 34 to move tooth 341) between a pair of teeth 39a and thus positivel lock the rotors in the desired spaced relation. 7

The rotors form an important part of my invention. These rotors may be duplicates, so that a description of one of them will be sufficient. As seen in Figure 6, each rotor comprises a shaft, such as 253 to the ends of which are fixed, in any suitable manner, discs 40 and M. A number of thinner intermediate discs 42 and 43 are mounted at regularly-spaced intervals along shaft 20. The several discs thus fixed to shaft 20, have a This collar has a central number of circumferentially-spaced holes adja-'- cent their peripheries, corresponding holes in each disc being in alignment in a direction parallel with shaft 20. A number of key rods 44, 45, G5 and 41 are provided, each rod passing through a respective set of aligned holes in the aforesaid discs. While I have shown four such rods, it is to be understood that this is merely a preferred form and that less or more than four may be used. Preferably, the rods are equally-spaced about the periphery of the discs for balance and smoothness of operation.

Each rod has strung thereon a plurality of keys I58 sufficient to completely fill the rod sections between discs, while leaving the keys free to pivot on the rods. One satisfactory form of key is shown at Figure 6. Other equally reliable forms are shown at Figures 7, l3 and 14. Figure 6 shows the sets of keys in the position they assume under centrifugal force. Figure '7 shows the keys in a typical position when the rotors are at rest. Inaddition, this figure shows a rotor arrangement using three key rods 3'4, 45 and 46', together with a different form of key 48'.

: Numerous other shapes of keys are possible and will occur to those skilled in the art. Indeed, it is possible to use ordinary cotter-pins in this respect. The form shown at Figure 7 may be formed by drilling and cutting into lengths, ordinary iron rod square or rectangular in cross-section. In addition, in Figure 7 the keys are more nearly balanced upon their rods. By varying the unbalance of the keys in this manner, I m enabled to correspondingly vary the cutting action. Also, as previously explained, the rotors may be formed with two or even one key rod. In gencral, however smoother operation will be obtained by making the number of cuts per unit of time as great as is practically possible. Four rods and four sets of keys has been found to give very satisfactory operation. If desired, the ends of the keys may be notched as at MS", Figure 13, to give two cuts-perkey for each-rotation of the rotor.

The pulleys 2i and 22 fixed on rotor shafts i9 and 23, respectively, have been previously described. These pulleys are of equal size and are driven by a single motor 48 mounted upon a special mount clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. As shown upon these figures, braces l l and 12 are connected by a crosspiece "58 in position somewhat to the right of the center of the braces. Apair of parallel bars 55 and 52 have holes'at one end and are connected at their leftends by a bearing bracket 53. The motor rests upon and is sup ported by these parallel bars. The crosspiece'iifl has bolts 54 and 55 xtending upwardly'the'refrom. These bolts pass with a smooth fit through the holes in bars 5! and 52, respectively. A spring such as 5'26, Figure 2, exerts a thrust between the head of each bolt and its bar, to thereby urge the adjacent ends of the bars downwardly. At the other end, horizontal 9 has two spaced bolts such as 5'? upstanding therefrom. Each bolt passes through an elongated aperture in its bar 5! or 52. A coil spring, such as 58 exerts a thrust between the head of each bolt and its bar, to thereby urge the bars downwardly.

The motor shaft is connected by a flexible coupling 59, with the adjacent end of a shaft 53. The other end of this shaft is journaled in bracket 53 and has a double pulley 5i fixed thereto. One belt 52 connects pulley 61 with pulley 2| on rotor shaft 19. The other crossed belt 63, connects tions of separation of rotor shaft l9 and 29.

Thus, Figure 2 shows the position of the motor base when the shafts are in their positions of maximum separation, corresponding to the positions of the parts shown in Figure 1. As lever 26 is moved forwardly, and the rotors approach each other, the belts move to more nearly vertical positions and bars 5| and 52 pivot downwardly to a more nearly horizontal position. Thus Figure 2 corresponds to an idling position of the rotors, while during actual uncapping, shaft 59 is substantially horizontal. A motor control switch 94 is provided at any convenient location, such as on leg 2, and is connected with the motor by ordinary BX cable 65 and with a source of current supply, by a flexible cord 99.

The ends of a slide rod 97 are fixed in horizontals 8 and it, at about their mid points. Likewise, a slide rod 58, Figure 8 is fixed at its ends in horizontals l and 9 at about their mid points. Both rods El and G8 are vertical. A slide 99 is mounted for smooth reciprocation on rod 67:. Also a slide i9 is mounted for reciprocation on rod 63. (See Figure 10.) the two slides 69 and iii are connected by a tube or rod H which may have its ends welded to the slides. A lever i2 is fixed to a shaft 73 horizontally journaled in apertures in legs 3 and 4. Lever 72 has a slot iii (see Fig. l) in which fits a pin fixed in slide 99. The free end of lever 72 projects forwardly of the frame and is equipped with a handle 78. As indicated at Ti, Figure ll, the forward flange of leg 2 is cut away at its top, to permit lever E2 to pass without being offset. A latch member '19 is fiXed to the other flange of leg 2, as by cap screws '59. The top of this latch member is spaced below front horizontal 5 so that lever 12 is held in its upper limiting position by resting on the top thereof. The lever is held in this position by its natural resiliency aided, if necessary, by a coil spring, not shown, surrounding pin 15 and positioned between slide 59 and lever 72, to urge the latter outwardly.

At its left end, shaft '13 has a lever 89 attached thereto. This lever has its forward end slotted, as at 8|, to slidably receive a pin fixed in slide l9. Levers l2 and 89 are thus maintained at all times in parallel relation by shaft 13, and, as handle i2 is moved up and down, the two levers coact to similarly move slides 99 and i9 and rod Tl.

As shown upon Figure 1, rod 'il carries a pair As shown at Figure l.

of spaced duplicate comb frames holders 82 and 33', one of which is shown in detail upon Figures 8 and 9. Each holder is built up from a channel section 84, having its lower side walls cut away as indicated at 85, Figure 8, to receive a cover plate 86. This cover plate has an inwardly and downwardly tapering notch 81 formed in its upper end, I

and the adjacent comb holder.

spective sides of channel 84 by screws or rivets. The springs are so dimensioned and related as to grip the sides of a comb frame therebetween when the frame is slid down into position in seat 98. At its lower end, channel section 84 has a collar 99 secured thereto as by welding. The collar, channel section, and plate 89 have aligned bores to receive rod ll with a smooth fit. A set screw 9 is threaded into collar 93 to secure the holder in desired position of adustment upon the rod. From Figure 1 it will be noted that the comb frame holders 82 and 83 are mounted on rod H in spaced confronting relation. The spacing is a little greater than the width of a standard comb frame whereby the frames may be firmly gripped for vertical movement when lever 12 is pivoted.

A tank 95 is provided to catch the wax removed by the rotors. This tank is shown at Figure 10 but is omitted from Figure l in the interest of clarity of disclosure. Tank 95 is a simple receptacle of sheet metal having an open top and supported from lower horizontals 9 and ill by four brackets 96, two of which are shown in Figure 19. The top edge of the tank is approximately at the level of the top horizontals 5 to 8. Its front and rear Walls are positioned to clear the rotor keys when spinning and when the rotors are in their positions of maximum separation. The side walls of the tank lie in vertical planes passing between each respective pair of bearing slides Each side wall is centrally and vertically slotted to accommodate the maximum travel of rod H In addition the left side wall has a pair of short horizontal slots, not shown, through which the rotor shafts l9 and 20 may pass with freedom for full horizontal movement. As a protection, and to prevent particles of wax being thrown about, the tank is provided with front and rear covers. The lower side of the rear cover 9?, is shown in perspective in Figure 12, from which it will be seen to comprise a top 98 having a rear wall 99 and side walls I00 and H35. The cover is so dimensioned that the walls 99, I00 and lill fit snugly within the corresponding walls of tank 95. When in this position, the forward edge of top 98 is approximately over the shaft 20 of the rear rotor, when the latter is in its limiting position of translation toward the forward rotor. A similar cover I02 is provided for the front portion of tank 95. In Figure 10, I have shown the rear tank cover in elevated position ready to drop into place. The forward cover is shown in operating position. In this position, the ends of top 98 may conveniently rest upon top horizontals 1 and 8. When in this position, a small vertical clearance exists between the aforesaid ends and bearing slides l5 to H3. The left wall of both covers is cut away, as at l00a, Figure 12, to clear the rotor shafts for all positions of translation thereof.

In operation, with the machine properly adjusted, the operator throws switch 84 to start the motor. Levers 2B and i2 are at this time in the positions shown upon Figure 10. Lever 26 is then adjusted by handle 33 to move the rotors toward each other to the desired cuttingposition in which the now radially-extended cutter keys are separated by a little less than the thickness of the comb. Cap 36 is then released to lock the rotors in adjusted position. If all combs are of approximately the same thickness, the lever 29 may be left in this position. The operator then takes-a frame of honey, preferably from his right, and moves it downwardly between the holders 82 and 83 so that its sides are gripped between springs such as 9| and 92, until its lower side contacts seats as at 88. He next grasps handle 16 with his right hand and releases lever l2 by moving it leftwardly to clear latch 18. The lever is now moved downwardly to thereby pass the honey-comb between the rotors and remove the caps of the cells. After reaching its lower limit of movement, the lever is again raised to return the frame to initial position. The frame is now removed by a straight upward pull, and a new frame of honey is inserted. The wax thus removed by the keys is reduced to a sawdust-like consistency and is caught in tank 95 from whence it may be drained by gravity or pumped to a settling tank where the wax rises to the top and is later melted. Alternatively the wax may be run through a melter as it leaves the tank. The rotor spacing may, if desired or found necessary, be adjusted while a frame is being run therebetween, the handles being within convenient and easy reach of the operator at one and the same time.

Figures 13 and 14 show alternative forms of cutter keys. In Figure 13, the key 503 has a double cutter end which in effect doubles the number of cuts per second for a given rotor and speed. Figure 14 shows a split key Hid which may have square ends or beveled ends, as shown, to provide two cutting edges for each key.

A spring is connected between horizontal 8 and lever 12 to urge the latter upwardly. This spring is so tensioned as to substantially balance the weight of slides 69 and ill, tube H, and the comb frame holders 82 and 33 carried thereby. By the use of this spring the force required to operate lever 72 will be substantially the same for both upward and downward movements.

I have thus provided a honey-comb uncapping machine which is relatively Simple and easy to operate, and which can be built at low cost in quantity lots. The machine simultaneously removes the caps from the cells of both sides of the comb in a clean, uniform manner so that practically all the honey may be recovered and a substantial saving in time and cost of honey production may be effected.

While I have disclosed a preferred form of my invention as now known to me, modifications and substitutions of equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a study of the present description. Hence I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction shown; and I reserve all such modifications as fall within the scope of the subjoined claims. The disclosure is to be taken strictly in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense.

While I have disclosed my machine as having only two cutting rotors, it is Within the purview of my invention to provide a machine with three or more cutting rotors which may be used to uncap two or more combs of honey simultaneously.

Having now fully disclosed my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for uncapping honey-comb comprising, a frame, a pair of horizontally spaced parallel rods fixed in said frame, two bearing slides mounted on each rod for translation there- 'along, each slide on one rod forming a pair with a corresponding slide upon the other rod, a cutting rotor journa-led in each said pair of slides, on horizontally spaced axes, means operable to move each said pairs of slides equally and oppositely toward and from each other in a horizontal direction, a comb frame holder, and means guiding and translating said holder vertically between said rotors, said first-named means comprising a shaft journaled in said frame parallel with said rotors, first and second double-armed levers fixed in spaced parallel relation on said shaft, each lever being approximately in the same vertical plane with a respective one of said rods, 2. first pair of links, each pivoted at one end to a lever at one side of said shaft and at the other end to a respective bearing slide, and a second pair of links each pivoted at one end to a lever on the other side of said shaft and at its other end to a respective bearing slide, whereby pivoting of said shaft in one direction moves the rotors toward each other and pivotin of said shaft in the opposite direction moves the rotors away from each other while continuously maintaining them in parallelism.

2. In a honey-comb uncapping machine, a frame, a pair of spaced, parallel, normally horizontal rods secured in said frame, a pair of slides mounted on each said rod for translation therealong, a normally horizontal shaft pivoted in said frame at right angles to said rods, a pair of equal double armed levers fixed to said shaft in parallel spaced relation,a first pair of equal links each connecting corresponding ends of said levers with corresponding slides on the respective rods, a second pair of equal links each connecting the remaining end of a corresponding lever with th remaining slide on a respective rod, manually operable means to pivot said shaft to move the slides of each pair in unison toward and from each other, a rotor journaled at its ends in the corresponding slides of each pair, a plurality of unitary keys pivoted on each rotor in closely spaced side-byside relation, whereby the ends of said keys traverse a cylindrical surface on rotation of said rotor, power means on said frame connected to spin said rotors in opposite directions, a pair of spaced normally vertical rods in said frame, a comb slide mounted on each said vertical rod, manually operable means on said frame operable to move said comb slides in unison, and means carried by said comb slides to support a comb frame and translate the same in a normally vertical plane midway between said rotors, each said key being a rigid one-piece element having a cutting edge on its outward extremity.

3. In a machine for uncapping honey-comb, a frame, a pair of horizontally spaced parallel rods fixed in said frame, two pairs of bearing slides mounted for translation on and along each rod, each slide forming a pair with a corresponding slide upon the other rod, manually operable means to simultaneously, equally and oppositely translate the two pairs of slides, a first uncapping rotor jcurnaled in and between the first pair of slides, a second uncapping rotor journaled in and between th second pair of slides, said manually operable means maintaining the axes of rotation of said rotors in parallelism, a pair of normally vertical rods fixed in said frame and defining a vertical plane midway between said first and second pairs of slides, a sleeve guided for translation on and along each vertical rod, a horizontal bar rigidly connecting said sleeves, spaced holders on said bar adapted to cooperate to hold a honeycomb frame in said plane, and manually operable means carried by said frame to translate said holders, bar and sleeves as a unit along said vertical rods.

MERRITT I. TAYLOR.

.(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED Number The following references are of record in the 111397371 file of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Number Name Date 1,523,963 Hodgson Jan. 20, 1925 Number 1,694,018 Mudge et a1. Dec. 4, 1928 507,243

Name Date Johnston Feb. 14, 1933 Bourg Nov. 14, 1939 Swertfeger Feb. 8, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Sept. 13, 1930 

